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Study: Growing Number Of Young People Suffering From Climate Change Anxiety

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Climate change is among the first things that comes to mind for many when discussing the biggest threats to the future and security of the planet. Now, a new study finds a growing number of young people worldwide are suffering from anxiety about climate change.

For the research, 10,000 young adults from 10 countries were asked how they feel about climate change.

"Children started telling us that they were feeling betrayed and abandoned and they felt that governments were lying about the effectiveness of the action they were taking to address the climate emergency," said researcher Caroline Hickman.

Researchers from the University of Bath say 84% of 16 to 25 year olds surveyed are at least somewhat worried about climate change. Nearly 60% say they are very or extremely worried about the climate crisis. Seventy-five percent say the future is frightening.

"It is quite worrying, and it makes me think about our future, and it's definitely not a place that I want my kids to live in," one student told CBS.

"That's the most scary bit really. What's g​onna happen in future generations down the line?" another concerned student asked.

It's not just mankind they're worried about.

"You don't want them to be left in a world where there's no animals that they can look at or there's no beautiful things in the world that they can see," explained one young adult.

The climate anxiety study found four in 10 young people around the world are hesitant to have children as a result of the climate crisis. Researchers say the only cure for climate anxiety is governments around the world taking real action to protect the environment.

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